The Aakhya Weekly #92 | Strategic Convergences & Challenges in India-Australia Relations
The Aakhya Weekly #92 | Strategic Convergences & Challenges in India-Australia Relations
In Focus: Ind-AU Overdrive After a Decade of Hesitations
By Sasanka Kanuparthi
Source: https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1594924573970964480
It has been a decade of many firsts for the India-Australia partnership, given how the relations received a historic upgrade, from the announcement of a strategic partnership in 2009 to its gradual elevation to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2020. Despite the positive turn in 2009, the decade prior is seen as a lull period, as Australia did not feature as a priority for the Indian side vis-a-vis top-level engagements or bilateral visits.
While India and Australia enjoyed close socio-cultural ties going beyond the two governments’ engagements in recent times, the relationship witnessed a complete reset on account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy pivot towards Asia in 2014, as a part of its ‘Act East’ policy. To put this in context, it had taken 28 years for an Indian Prime Minister to schedule a bilateral visit to Australia, which then set the tone for the unprecedented progress that both countries achieved in subsequent years. Whether it is trade agreements, defence, cricket, or agriculture, significant strides have been made, with even Indian experts perceiving it as a mark of India’s foreign policy achievements in the last ten years.
Since 2014, at least three Australian PMs made state visits to India, PM Narendra Modi made two state visits to Australia, several trade delegations from India and Australia visited each other's countries, and the leadership at the top-level met multiple times across geographies on the sidelines of the numerous QUAD meetings, with the grouping acting as a platform for improving engagements with like-minded partners like the United States, India, Japan, and Australia.
Multidimensional Hesitations & Multilateral Motivations
While India’s Act East policy took shape after PM Modi assumed office, it offers continuity from India’s ‘Look East’ policy. It indicates that there was a growing recognition of China’s belligerence, as early as the 90s. By 1991, the Narasimha Rao-led Indian government accounted for the looming dangers in a post-cold war era, which then recognised the need for India to build strategic partnerships in Southeast and East Asia, as a counterweight to China’s hegemonic tendencies. In hindsight, policy confusions on the part of both India and Australia in the 2000s, tell us about the lost opportunities and what it cost the relationship.
Despite former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s initiative to create a four-country cooperation arrangement for regional security, several apprehensions remained. Japan spearheaded the launch of QUAD following the successful cooperation between the four countries in disaster relief and humanitarian response in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami. However, there were concerns even with the US that a potential multilateral engagement of the QUAD countries would end up alienating China, given that there was significant trade-centric reliance from all quarters. China managed to successfully limit options for both India and Australia, who prioritised growing trade relations over any strategic multilateral manoeuvres that could potentially upset the Chinese.
By 2007, countries backed out of any concrete discussions in this regard, until it was revisited later under very different circumstances. Naturally, India resorted to bilateral engagements and close cooperation with China on climate change, as evidenced by the rhetoric surrounding negotiations in the UNFCCC. However, China's aggressive maritime and economic expansion across the Indo-Pacific and the African continent in the early 2010s served as a reminder of what was to come from China’s wolf warrior tactics.
Turning the Tide
It took the widening of fault lines between the US and China, China’s dangerous postures in the high seas, and the climate deal that China struck with the US, to wake India up from its slumber. Even in the case of India-Australia ties, the Manmohan Singh government was happy advancing the relations through the strategic partnership, which many observers viewed as sluggish in terms of advancing each other's collective interests. It was not until the 2017 period that both sides realised the potential for growth. Some were of the view that the decade prior was either unimaginative or unambitious, which was in contrast to the ground covered by the two from 2014, and then after the reconvening of the QUAD in 2017.
Since then, the frequency of the QUAD foreign ministers’ meetings increased, indicating the strategic Indo-Pacific tilt, while all four countries boosted engagement across the board. The India and US 2+2 ministerial which kickstarted engagements between the foreign and home offices of both countries, was extended even to the India-Australia engagements, with the second such meeting concluding recently in November 2023. India and Australia also concluded a flurry of defence agreements such as the Mutual Logistics Support agreement in 2020 and the Joint Guidance for the India-Australia Navy to Navy Relationship’ document in August 2021, which are in line with similar agreements India signed with the United States and Japan. These are intended to offer the privilege of interoperability, allowing each others' navies and other services access to facilities and ports. Instruments such as these are increasingly seen by the QUAD countries as necessitous deterrents against a hostile China. The effectiveness of these agreements is already evident, seeing that Indian submarines are docking at Australian ports and Australian participation in the Malabar military exercise in Sydney in 2023.
While there are divergences on India’s relationship with Russia following the Ukraine conflict, Australian viewpoints are often shaped by the wider western perceptions, under the US’s leadership. What seems to work for India is its growing confidence at projecting its foreign policy priorities. However, it is also the proliferation of geopolitical tensions that has forced western capitals to make tough choices. Even in Canberra’s case, a conscious decision seems to have been made to momentarily let go of a value-based approach in favour of a pragmatic one. Ever since Australia made a departure from its earlier overtures to China, it has looked for
Forward Looking Trade Agenda and Setting New Ambitions
Given that both India and Australia addressed their respective security challenges, the Modi government and the successive Australian governments moved swiftly to build momentum even in the trade domain. As the ties began to enjoy bipartisan support and media glare in both countries, the highest levels of government doubled down rightly on concluding trade agreements, achieving results faster than India’s traditional trade engagements with the EU. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), concluded in April 2022, was a milestone event, even though it is just a stepping stone for the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which the two sides have been negotiating. In terms of disagreements between India and Australia, challenges are likely to emerge over disagreements on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India’s engagement with Russia, and friction over allegations of an assisination plot of a US-based sikh separatist, and Canadian citizen.
Beyond this, issues persist over agriculture supply chains. In the food sector, India seeks Australian investment to improve farming techniques and food processing, but also faces challenges from Australian imports. CECA offers prospects for collaboration in research, innovation, and agricultural transformation, vital for India's modernization and competitiveness. However, the need for value-chain reforms in Indian agriculture remains crucial for sustainability and to withstand global competition. While these are pressing issues, it is important to get a bird’s eye on the distance traversed. Both India and Australia have overcoming years of dormancy in relations, while creating a plethora of new ambitions and setting sails aimed at resolving the next set of challenges.
Top Stories of the Week
India EU Play Matchmakers for EV Battery Recycling in Novel Collaboration
India and the EU recently introduced an invitation for an Expression of Interest for startups and SMEs in both markets, within the EV battery recycling space for a matchmaking event. The event aims to promote battery recycling within India by channelising the expertise of EU’s EV industry, while providing access to the Indian consumer. The invitation was extended by the EU’s India delegation in collaboration with the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser. This is the latest amongst the slew of policy developments within the EU-India bilateral. In February 2023, the India-EU Trade and Technology Council was launched, designed with the intent of accelerating trade and investment within the bilateral.
In the past few years, member states of the EU have increased involvement within India to further various green mobility initiatives. With initiatives such as the Indo-German Green Urban Mobility partnership, countries are indicating explicit interest in utilizing India as a manufacturing hub to aid European EV manufacturers. This coupled with the new European free-trade agreement (EFTA) with countries like Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, the EU’s participation within the Indian EV landscape is worth noting.
A possible reason for Europe’s profound rise in participation can be attributed to the supply-chain economics of electric mobility. With India’s perception as a more reliable and cost effective partner for battery manufacturing, and the boom of Indian consumption power; support for the indigenous EV movement in India could have significant implications for Europe's EV exports. Another possible motive stems from the rising narrative of the global south seeking equitable accountability regarding achieving a carbon zero target propelled by Europe and the western bloc. Whether India will be able to successfully hone this collaboration into an ecosystem, remains to be seen.
FSSAI Initiative Promotes Safer Food: Focus on fresh products and E- commerce
To bolster food safety in Delhi's bustling markets, the FSSAI has joined forces with the city's Food Safety Department in a multi-pronged awareness campaign. The initiative takes aim at weeding out pesticide residues and contaminants, particularly in fresh produce. A key weapon in this arsenal is FSSAI's innovative "Food Safety on Wheel" mobile lab, capable of cracking the code on nearly 50 pesticide residues in various foods and delivering results in a jiffy.
The campaign also emphasizes the importance of playing by the rules when it comes to food safety. This includes obtaining the necessary FSSAI licenses or registrations and securing ingredients from reputable sources to ensure a clear chain of custody and overall food safety. Participants received specific education on the dangers of pesticide residues, artificial ripening shortcuts, unauthorized wax coatings, and the advantages of embracing organic farming practices.
In a separate directive, FSSAI issued a clarion call for e-commerce food businesses (FBOs) to ensure accurate product categorization. The authority identified instances where "Proprietary Food" products (pre-made mixes) were masquerading as "Health Drinks" or "Energy Drinks" on e-commerce platforms, even though their appropriate categories are Dairy-Based Beverage Mix, Cereal-Based Beverage Mix, or Malt-Based Beverage Mix. FSSAI clarified that the term "Health Drink" has no legal definition, and advised e-commerce FBOs to rectify the situation by removing or de-linking such beverages from the misleading categories. With the skyrocketing sales of caffeinated energy drinks, FSSAI is formulating tighter regulations for this specific product category.
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